UNIFICATION THOUGHT: PHILOSOPHY AND IDEOLOGY FOR THE COMING NEW CULTURE CENTERED ON GOD
THE URGENT INTELLECTUAL TASK: A NEW IDEOLOGY BASED ON THEISM AND THE UNIVERSAL VALUES COMMON TO ALL THE WORLD'S MAJOR RELIGIONS
IN HIS WORDS: Unification Thought is "A new view of life, a new view of the world, universe and the providence of history that has never before existed. It is also a principle of integration that can encompass the whole into one unity, while at the same time preserving the individual characteristics of all religious doctrines and philosophies."
He explained further, "God's truth is sent to earth as revelation given through certain providential persons. God's truth is the absolute truth, which is an almighty key capable of solving any problem, no matter how difficult it may be. I have encountered the living God through a lifetime of prayer and meditation, and have been given this absolute truth. Its remarkable contents clarify all the secrets hidden behind the entire universe, behind human life and behind human history."Reverend Sun Myung Moon
One most urgent tasks of these times of conflict between religions iis the establishment of a universal philosophy and an ideological system based on theism and universal values common to all religions.
WHAT IS UNIFICATION THOUGHT?:
Unification Thought, is the philosophical systematization of the Divine Principle received as revelation by Reverend Moon, by his early disciple Dr. San Hun Lee, It is a philosophical theory covering the questions of being, logic, cognition, value, art, history, and practice. It assumes theological nature in that it deals with the attributes of God, creation, providence, etc.. It offers a theory of standards for solving actual problems, a reform theory which is aimed at restoration to the original world, a complementary theory which recognizes the truth in existing philosophies and theologies, a theory for cultural revolution which provides the basis for the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven and the true liberation theory which aims to liberate all humankind from Satan and thus to liberate God.
Unification Thought sets itself a this formidable task and the foundation for this work is the understanding of God. As Dr. Lee has said, "Unification Thought begins with God in its logical development. That is to say, this thought system starts with the theory of the attributes of God and the theory of His creation. Thus the first premise in the establishment of Unification Thought is the clarification of the attributes of God. The second premise is the creation of the universe, and the third premise is creation according to the law of resemblance. The reason why these three points are chosen as the premises for its logical development is that Unification Thought is revealed for the salvation of mankind through the settlement of actual problems."
Faith and Reason: Unification Thought is a philosophy that is meant to be practically applied- it intends to provide the ideological basis for a global society in which true love (unselfish living for others) is the way of life and all actual problems of the individual and society can be solved. However, does the fact that it is based on God make it become a matter of faith to accept Unification Thought? According to Dr. Lee not. UnificationThought proves tenable scientifically. Two major hypotheses in the ontology- Theory of the Original Image are verified by scientific observation. These are that God is the harmonious Subject of the dual characteristics of Sung Sang and Hyung Sang, and of the dual characteristics of Yang and Yin. Since all things created according to the Law of Resemblance resemble God, they should reflect these two dual characteristics of God. By examining the characteristics of human beings, animals, plants and minerals, these hypotheses are verified. Thus, it need not be a matter of faith to accept Unification Thought.
Unification Thought is a comprehensive philosophical system. It begins with the Theory of the Original Image, an understanding of the nature and characteristics of God, the creator of the universe. A major feature of this theory is that God's central aspect is "Shim Jung" or heart, the source of love, that God's purpose in creating was to produce joy through love. Secondly, Ontology is covered under two headings: "Ontology," which deals with all created things except human beings, and the "Theory of Original Human Nature," which deals with human beings.
According to Unification Thought, all things were created to be the object of humankind with the purpose of producing joy. Human beings were created in the image of God, as God's children with eternal spiritual life, to bring loving dominion over all creation and to be objects of love to God. (Note: the term "object" in Unification Thought does not refer only to things, but may also refer to human beings. This point will be discussed more fully in subsequent articles.) These three theories form the root from which all other theories are developed, namely Axiology, Epistemology, Logic, Education, Ethics, Art, and History.
Unification Epistemology deals with issues of cognition (its origin, object, and method), while Unification Logic complements the insufficiencies of traditional logics. Axiology, the theory of values, provides the foundation for the theories of Education, Ethics, and Art, which correspond to the values of truth, goodness, and beauty, which are sought by the three functions of mind which are intellect, will, and emotion, respectively.
The theory of Education proposes three types of education, of heart, norm, and intellect, which correspond to God's three blessings in Genesis 1:28 (to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion). The theory of Ethics states that the most fundamental ethical system is the God-centered family. The theory of Art details the elements of beauty, the conditions for creative work, and the conditions for appreciation. And, finally, the theory of History shows God's providence of restoration working in history through the laws of creation and restoration.
Thus, Unification Thought is a system which provides the basis for a new culture, the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
The contents of UT are classified into Ontology, the Theory of the Original Nature of Man, Epistemology, Axiology, Ethics, and the Theory of History, Logic, Pedagogy, and the Theory of Arts. Since Ontology is the most fundamental theory of the Unification Thought, it is dealt with in comparative detail.
Theistic, UT assumes creation by God and the action of Divine Providence in the process of human history. It finds the ultimate cause of today's social chaos and international disputes at the beginning of history. It attempts to solve the various realistic problems in a new dimension by recognizing the Fall of Man at the beginning of history, the action of the Divine Providence in the process of human history, and the responsibility of man to inaugurate a new, ideal God-centered world.
